Extinct Animals List

Know about the immense loss that Nature had to incur! Learn about some of the most amazing animals which vanished in the doom of extinction, from this article on the extinct animals list.

AnimalSake Staff

"Tigers are not game and trees are not a source of fuel. The job that animals and plants perform in nature, is one of the many things which help us humans live our lives in comfort!"

I find no pleasure in conveying this information about the animals which have once trod upon this earth, but now are nowhere to make us feel that they exist. This is a discussion of the creatures which have faced the demolition of the last individual of their species, branding them as extinct animals. Factors which are known to have caused this disaster include limited geographic range, genetic pollution, habitat loss, reckless hunting, extinction of other dependable species and global warming to name the common ones.

Animals that Got Extinct in the Last 10 years

The Golden Toad

The golden toad, known scientifically as Bufo periglenesm, is also attributed as Monteverde golden toad or the Monte Verde toad, Alajuela toad and orange toad. This bright, small, shiny toad existed in tropical forests which lay above the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. According to extensive research of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), not a single species of this toad is known to have been spotted anywhere in the world. In the year 2004, the golden toad was thus, declared extinct. Reasons for its demise were determined to be airborne pollution, habitat loss and global warming.

Po'o-uli

Coming next in the list of extinct animals, not more than 6 years from now, was the Po'o-uli, Melamposops phaeosoma. Also known as the Black-faced Honeycreeper, this bird was known to be native to Hawaii. Its discovery was made in the year 1973 on the island of Maui and after a period of 26 years, it was reported that only three individuals of this species were known to exist. One of these three, know to be a male, was brought in captivity, in order to breed the bird. However, no mate could be traced for the male, before it demised in the year 2004. As the probability to locate the other individuals and to breed them in captivity (considering their low fertility and sex) is extremely low, the current population in the wild is considered to be zero. All these factors have made them to be declared functionally extinct in 2004.

Pyrenean Ibex

The Pyrenean Ibex existed, which I remember I knew until the year 2000, now is in the list of extinct animals. Scientifically known as Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica, this animal was known to be one of the four subspecies of the Spanish Ibex. In January 2000, the Pyrean Ibex marked the extinction of its species with its demise. The other subspecies which still survive are considered at the verge of extinction or 'Near Threatened'.

Hawaiian Crow

Declared as an extinct species in the wild, the last two individuals of the Hawaiian crow were known to disappear in 2002. The Hawaiian crow, Corvus hawaiiensis, before its extinction, was found only in the western and southeastern parts of the island of Hawaii. It is known that there are about 56 individuals in captive breeding facilities.

Spix's Macaw

Another one in this list is the Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii). A native to Brazil, its last known species disappeared by the end of 2000. Trapping for trade and habitat loss are the main reason which caused the species of this bird to dwindle down to nothing. Even if there is any population of the Spix's Macaw, it is most likely to be a petite one and thus, according to the IUCN database, it is treated as extinct in the wild.

So this was a brief data about the unfortunate and sad demise of some of the most splendid creatures of the Earth, which were breathing a few years back from now. The list below is a presentation of the animals which faced complete 'wipe off' from the face of the Earth; some a few years ago and some more than 100 years ago. Some of the animals which have been declared extinct are according to geographical regions.

Extinct Animals

Aurochs

Arabian Gazelle

Big-eared Hopping Mous

Bulldog Rat

Panay Giant Fruit Bat

Dusky Flying Fox

Elephant Bird

Upland Moa

King Island Emu

Korean Crested Shelduck

Mauritian Shelduck

Amsterdam Island Duck

Mauritian Duck

Javanese LapwingEskimo Curle

Great Auk

Passenger Pigeon

Bonin Woodpigeon

Liverpool Pigeon

Sulu Bleeding-heart

Thick-billed Ground-Dove

Negros Fruit-Dove

Dodo

New Zealand Greater Short-tailed Bat

Marcano's Solenodon

Balearic Shrew

Chadwick Beach Cotton Mouse

Gould's Mouse

Falkland Island Wolf

Bali Tiger

Tasmanian Tiger

Japanese Wolf

Mexican Grizzly Bear

Sea Mink

Japanese Sea Lion

Caspian Tiger

Javan Tiger

Caribbean Monk Seal

Western Black Rhinoceros

Puerto Rican Flower Bat

Dusky Flying Fox

Broad-faced Potoroo

Lake Mackay Hare-Wallaby

Desert Rat-kangarooToolache Wallaby

Pig-footed Bandicoot

Red-bellied Gracile Opossum

Steller's Sea Cow

Oriente Cave Rat

Darling Downs Hopping Mouse

Long-Tailed Hopping Mouse

Pemberton's Deer Mouse

Big-eared Hopping Mouse

St Lucy Giant Rice Rat

Atlas Bear

Lesser Mascarene Flying Fox

Bubal Hartebeest

Madagascan Dwarf Hippopotamus

Red Gazelle

Canary Islands Giant Rat

Large Saint Helena Petrel

Newton's Parakeet

Cape Verde Giant Skink

Saddle-backed Mauritius Giant Tortoise

Rodrigues Giant Day Gecko

Round Island Burrowing Boa

Rodrigues Day Gecko

Réunion Giant Tortoise

Typhlops Cariei

Domed Mauritius Giant Tortoise

Pantanodon Madagascariensis

Ptychochromoides Itasy

Egyptian Barbary Sheep

Cape Lion

Barbary lion

Scimitar Oryx

Cave Bear

European Cave Lion

Elasmotherium

Maltese Hippopotamus

Tenerife Giant Rat

Steppe Rhinoceros

Eurasian Aurochs

Caucasian Moose

Caucasian Wisent

Majorcan Giant Dormouse

Sardinian Pika

Ratas Island Lizardani

Asiatic Lion

Gray Whale

Western European Lion

Falkland Island Wolf

Argentine Fox

Indefatigable Galapagos Mouse

Duane's Armadillo

Terror Birds

Darwin's Ground Finch

Red-throated Wood-rail

Sri Lanka Lion

Steppe Wisent

Cave lion

Giant Unicorn

Woolly Rhinoceros

Anthropocene

Indian Aurochs

Chinese Elephant

Northern Sumatran Rhinoceros

Java Tiger

Panay Giant Fruit Bat

Arabian Gazelle

Chinese River Dolphin (Baiji)

Asiatic Ostrich

Bonin Wood Pigeon

Western Koala

Desert Rat-kangaroo

White-footed Rabbit-Rat

Central Hare-Wallaby

Gastric-brooding Frog

Harlequin Lizard

Stewart Island Snipe

New Zealand Quail

South Island Piopio

Quagga

New Zealand Coot

Finsch's Duck

Bush Moa

Laughing Owl

Extinction of animals which occurred due to the forces of nature, was perhaps, inevitable. However, extinction which resulted from the reckless acts of humans, could have been stopped. The few number of animal species which we are left with now, have all reasons to be included in the list presented above, unless, we do something about it. Hunting, poaching, hunger to occupy more and more land, deforestation and many other factors have known to directly or indirectly, disrupt the existence of animals. But are we aware that every living creature on this Earth is a vital part of the ecosystem. The extinction of one species, directly affects the survival of other and the disruption does not stop there. It only spreads like a plague!..